It's not hard to spot an actual, trained emotional-support animal, a spokesman for the Springfield airport said.

They behave impeccably, they're attentive to their owners, and they don't poop on the airport floor.

"I almost stepped on (some)," said Kent Boyd, a spokesman for the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

According to Boyd, there have been dogs, an occasional cat, and even some pot-bellied pigs at the Springfield airport — either to greet people arriving home or as "emotional-support" animals for travelers.

However, Boyd said some people show up to ticket counters with what appear to be forged documents that claim their pet is an emotional-support animal.

"It happens on a semi-regular basis," Boyd said, adding that this is an issue at airports nationwide.

The Springfield airport does not have a list of banned or approved animals, Boyd said, leaving it up to airlines to decide how they will handle animals on planes.

"It would probably be the (Federal Aviation Administration) who would issue rules on the subject, but the feds have not done so," Boyd said.

United Airlines and Delta Airlines — both of which fly out of the Springfield airport — have new regulations coming in March.

The airlines will require notes that confirm the animal’s health from a veterinarian and that confirm the animal's training to behave in a public setting, to avoid problems with urination or defecation during the flight.

Boyd said it's likely that the new regulations could lead to confrontations at the airport's counters, and the airport's police officers have already been briefed on the coming changes.

Boyd spoke with the News-Leader Thursday afternoon, noting that earlier that day he saw a woman in the airport's concourse who had "a lapdog on a leash" while she spoke French into her phone.

According to Boyd, most people can easily recognize a trained seeing-eye dog.

"And then you have these animals that are like the household pet," he said.

USA Today contributed to this report.

CLOSE

Delta Air Lines is not the only carrier cracking down on emotional support animals.
Time